


Blood from blood

by melancholicInspiration



Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, Original work - Freeform, Other, and decided to rewrite and put it up here, it was originally an older story that i had kicking around in my brain, this is an entirely new original piece
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 09:53:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4701701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholicInspiration/pseuds/melancholicInspiration
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If words could describe how I felt about you, in tellings of either the deepest loathings or the most fiery passions, there would be books about each thing I felt. Every step into the dark forest made me think of how more bearable it would be with you here yet I dared not speak of such selfish pleas. An eerie silence has long since covered these lands, only broken by a feeble owl hoot or a welcome breeze through the trees - yet it was not of these lands that held my fear. The fear threatening to wrest control of my mind from me was caused years ago by a man I shall not speak. It had been longer than I care to admit since I had been forced to leave the place I had once thought of as my home, and though sickness for it plagues me I will not turn back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood from blood

**Author's Note:**

> Expository backstory time! This is the first original work I've done wow.

_If words could describe how I felt about you, in tellings of either the deepest loathings or the most fiery passions, there would be books about each thing I felt. Every step into the dark forest made me think of how more bearable it would be with you here yet I dared not speak of such selfish pleas. An eerie silence has long since covered these lands, only broken by a feeble owl hoot or a welcome breeze through the trees - yet it was not of these lands that held my fear. The fear threatening to wrest control of my mind from me was caused years ago by a man I shall not speak. It had been longer than I care to admit since I had been forced to leave the place I had once thought of as my home, and though sickness for it plagues me I will not turn back._

 

It was true that Joshua Kimnd had been forced to leave his clan, the only clan of Blood Witches on this continent, and he wished for nothing but to understand why they came to the decision that they did. Even though it happened nearly 3 months ago, he was no closer to finding the answer he desired and the confusion was beginning to sap him dry. Either he would find out, and he would understand more of his brethren, or he wouldn't and spend years wondering why they didn't want him.

So much for him believing himself to be better than to get in petty arguments and agonize over something that happened a long time ago. He let out a small sigh as he came to a sudden cliff, resting his hand on a nearby tree whose roots were splayed out in the air as if everything came down but spared the tree. Looking down the cliff, the scene below managed to surprise him. It was quite a drop but everything below was still, as if nothing had ever happened to make the level plane or the drop. 

Still, a suspicious clearing in the middle of the forest meant nothing good. Joshua was still reckless and confident in his ability to defend himself, both with spells and with muscle, so he took the chance and find a less dangerous way down. There was a silver of moon in the cloudy sky, and even without its light, Joshua could find a safe path down. His eyesight, even in the dark, was adequate enough that he didn't need much help from natural or magical forms of light - one of many traits shared by the Blood Witches.

Even still, Joshua could feel the hints of old magic lingering in the air as he stumbled down a more forgiving slope. The young boy knew of the long history of his kind, and of the many other forms of his clan scattered around in the world but there was something about the place that made his skin crawl. The magic wasn't what he was used to at all, and though he didn't usually shy away from more experienced and even more dangerous forms of spell casting, it was giving him pause.

Very likely that this odd scenery was caused by some cataclysmic battle that happened eons ago. While his family had told him that it was okay to stand and fight, either when there was no other option or to defend, they were not people that immediately grabbed weapons. Everyone knew what was to happen if one challenged a Blood Witch, regardless of individual clan, and stayed clear of them. They largely kept to themselves, due to knowledge that they might be misunderstood, and rogues of their kind had often painted them with an ill brush, but the more daring of them set off on their own to rarely be heard from again.

As conscious of this as he was, Joshua felt he was no more daring than anyone else he had lived with. Yet here he was, standing in the middle of a mysterious glade trying to find out the source of this magic that both burned his tongue and soothed it, as if it were some warm fire that lapped at his being. It served as a warning, but what of was unclear.

Now in the middle of it, his back facing the precipice that he almost fell down, he could feel the magic growing around him. A younger mage would be concerned for their well being if they did not know the magic as well as he did - and yet the curiosity of what kind of person did this, and why exactly was propelling him forward. He stopped when one of his hands, which he had placed by the dagger on a makeshift bandolier about his chest, bumped into something.

This confirmed his suspicions that there was something curiously wrong about the place, even more so since there was nothing but air in front of him, and the tree line started more than a few meters in any direction. It must be some kind of invisibility that had been put in place to protect someone, or something. Those kind of spells weren't common knowledge anymore, and those who practiced them were given wary glances.

Joshua would be lying if he hadn't thought about trying it out for himself, but now he was actually confronted with it he felt wary about it. Not only was invisibility, and many other ancient spells and tricks, forbidden but there was no books on it. No strict way of how to unravel a spell of this nature, and unraveling was much more complicated and detail-oriented unlike the other forms, which tended to have a certain amount of flow and spontaneity. This wasn't an area he considered to be a specialty, but he walked around the invisible form with one arm outstretched, trying to get a feel of how big this place was supposed to be.

It felt like time was stretching out indefinitely when he came back to where he was originally, no sudden moment of realization coming to him. If he was so competent, so intelligent, why couldn't he figure this out? Joshua sighed to himself, the sound itself sounding almost foreign, before he sat down on where the new grass was growing. Sitting down made him realize how odd it was that the grass was still there, unharmed, as if whatever caused the landslide couldn't stop it from taking over. Closer towards the re beginning of the forest proper, tiny flowers were popping up along the grass, and it made a natural barrier around the glade. All of them were the same yellow flowers, and some of the ancient herb witches would be able to classify them and teach others what their uses were. It had been too long since Joshua listened to what they taught, and in his mind he was already beginning to forget - too long from home and his memories were already beginning to wane. 

Sleep was beginning to overcome him, and Joshua moved slightly and removed his small pack from his shoulders, setting it on the ground beside him. As if sensing something  unspoken, a thin beam of light appeared and shot right at him. The beam was the same quality and effervescence as moonlight, but what separated it was it clearly stopped at Joshua's face. Directly under his left eye was a pattern of blood red dots, and the beam or whoever was behind its presence, used it as some kind of scanner. 

Joshua stayed still through this odd situation, confident that no harm would come of this. No harm did, but what followed shock him as if some wild animal bounded out of the woods attacked him. A great building appeared in front of his eyes - an ancient temple long forotten by time yet still preserved by powerful magic. 

A sigh of relief came from the mage as he scampered to his feet, picked up his satchel bag and headed inside. 


End file.
